Episode 190

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Published on:

17th May 2025

Episode 190: Letting Go of Shame in ADHD Business Ownership [featuring Priyanka Rao]

In this episode, I spoke with Dr. Priyanka Rao, licensed clinical psychologist and founder of Asha Mental Health, about what it means to be an ADHD entrepreneur — the challenges, the resilience, and how to thrive authentically.

Dr. Rao shared her late-diagnosis journey, how motherhood illuminated her ADHD, and the mindset shifts that fuel her leadership, coaching, and private practice ambitions. Her real-talk about embracing neurodiversity in entrepreneurship is a must-hear.

Here are 3 key takeaways:

  1. Embrace How Your Brain Works: Letting go of self-blame and outdated expectations is liberating. Accepting your unique wiring means you’re not lazy or disorganized — just wired differently. Plan for your patterns rather than fighting them.
  2. Permission to Delegate: You don’t have to do it all. Delegation isn’t a weakness; it’s a strategy for growth. Investing in support and systems early on helps you stay energized and focused on what matters most.
  3. Vision + Values over Hustle: Get clear about where you want to go and make decisions aligned with your long-term values, not just the next shiny idea. Surround yourself with supportive peers and mentors who can offer perspective (and keep you grounded).

More about Priyanka:

Dr. Priyanka Rao is a licensed clinical psychologist based in Minneapolis and the founder of Asha Mental Health, a private practice specializing in neurodiversity-affirming and multiculturally inclusive mental health care. She is also an executive coach for leaders and entrepreneurs, especially those with ADHD. As a late-diagnosed ADHDer herself, Dr. Rao brings both professional expertise and personal insight to her work, particularly in neurodiversity affirming adult ADHD and autism assessment. In addition to her clinical practice, Dr. Rao has extensive leadership experience, having served as Chief Clinical Officer of a large group practice prior to opening her own practice. When she’s not empowering clients to embrace their authentic selves, she enjoys reading, trying new foods, and spending time with her family and dog.

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NeuroPreneur Circle is an online community built by and for neurodivergent entrepreneurs who want a supportive space to build a business, a space where they can show up as themselves and in whatever way feels most comfortable. NeuroPreneur Circle exists because community built on masking isn't really community. And business advice built for neurotypical brains isn't actually useful to us, no matter how many times we try to make it fit. Whatever your neurotype, whatever you're building, there's a space here for you. You've been creating alone long enough. Visit: https://atppod.com/community

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Mentioned in this episode:

NeuroPreneur Circle Community

NeuroPreneur Circle is an online community built by and for neurodivergent entrepreneurs who want a supportive space to build a business, a space where they can show up as themselves and in whatever way feels most comfortable. NeuroPreneur Circle exists because community built on masking isn't really community. And business advice built for neurotypical brains isn't actually useful to us, no matter how many times we try to make it fit. Whatever your neurotype, whatever you're building, there's a space here for you. You've been creating alone long enough. Visit: https://atppod.com/community

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About the Podcast

The Neurodivergent Entrepreneur
Honest conversations about building a business while Neurodivergent, the self-doubt, the chaos, and everything in between.
The Neurodivergent Entrepreneur is a podcast for ADHD, Autistic, and all other neurodivergent entrepreneurs who are building businesses, creative work, and lives that actually fit how their brains work. Hosted by Patrick Casale, LCMHC, this show is for people who
want to create meaningful work, create outside of the box, grow their impact, and build something sustainable without losing themselves in the process.

Being a neurodivergent entrepreneur can feel like holding a lot of contradictions at once. You may have big ideas, deep passion, creative energy, and a strong desire to do things differently. You may also be navigating burnout, masking, self-doubt, perfectionism, rejection sensitivity, executive dysfunction, inconsistent energy, and the pressure to keep showing up when your capacity is already stretched. This podcast speaks to that reality honestly, because building a business around your brain, your values, and your lived experience can be powerful, complicated, messy, and deeply personal.

Patrick Casale is a chronically ill, AuDHD, mental health therapist, entrepreneur, TEDx speaker, event host, group practice owner, and neurodivergent business owner who has built, grown, burned out, pivoted, and kept going. His work brings together clinical insight, lived experience, business perspective, and real conversation about what it actually takes to create something that feels values aligned. His conversations are direct, compassionate, unfiltered, and practical, with room for both the emotional reality of entrepreneurship and the concrete decisions that shape a sustainable business.

New episodes drop every Wednesday and feature honest conversations with neurodivergent entrepreneurs, creators, therapists, business owners, and leaders. Together, Patrick and his guests explore entrepreneurship, identity, mental health, chronic health,
creativity, leadership, systems, money mindset, visibility, community, sustainable growth, and the behind-the-scenes reality of creating work that matters.

Build your dream business. Protect your capacity. Work with your brain instead of against it.